
Ckss /~7^ 



[)()(! 



<.M^ 



PRESENTRD liY 



^H 





"2'Wvv.X^t/' 



~^iM. 



M-yv^LO->- t-i^^ 



iMj 



MEMORIAL 



JAMES FROTHINGHAM HUNNEWELL 



READ BEFORE 



THE BOSTONIAN SOCIETY 



ON 



JANUARY 17. 1911 



BY 



HAROLD MURDOCK 



BOSTON 

PRIVATELY PRINTED 

1911 






>^ 



T. 



Cuv , 






MEMORIAL 



MR. James Frothingham Hunnewell, who died 
at his home in Boston on November nth, 1910, 
was one of the original members of this Society and 
its President at the time of his death. He came of 
good New England stock, his ancestors on his father's 
side being identified with the life of Charlestown since 
1698. He was born in Charlestown in 1832, the son 
of James and Susan (Lamson) Hunnewell. Educated 
in private schools, he early entered the ofifice of his 
father, who was one of the last of Boston's old-time 
merchants, and who conducted an extensive business 
over-seas, sending the American flag on staunch, trim 

[3] 



MEMORIAL OF 

vessels into the most remote harbors of the world. 
Indeed as early as 1826 the firm had established a 
house in the Sandwich Islands. Shortly after the 
civil war Mr. Hunnewell retired from business, but 
this move was merely a step to his entrance upon new 
activities. He became a learned antiquarian and a 
wise collector, amassing through a succession of busy 
years a library of rare and curious items, rich in 
material relating to his native town and State. 

As an antiquarian he was a member of the Boston- 
i^n, the Massachusetts Historical, and the American 
Antiquarian Societies. As a collector, he was one of 
the founders of The Club of Odd Volumes, and served 
as its President for nearly fifteen years, the ofifice of 
Honorary President being created for him upon his 
retirement from active duty. Always a good citizen, 
he served upon the School Board of Charlestown, ren- 
dered invaluable service as a Trustee of the Public 

[4] 



JAMES FROTHINGHAM HUNNEWELL 

Library there, and later identified himself with the 
Massachusetts Reform Club. A man of business ex- 
perience, he was chosen President of the Charlestown 
Gas Company, and a Trustee of the Five Cents Sav- 
ings Bank. Of charitable and religious instincts, he 
became Vice-President of the Winchester Home for 
Aged Women, Trustee of the Charlestown Dispen- 
sar}', Vice-President of the Associated Charities, Treas- 
urer of the old First Parish of Charlestown, and an 
officer of the Society for the Propagation of the Gos- 
pel in Foreign Parts. 

In 1858 he received the Honorary degree of A. M. 
from Beloit College, as a tribute not only to his liter- 
ary' w^ork, but because of kind and efficient service 
rendered to that institution. Because of the interest 
stimulated in the lifetime of his father's firm, he ap- 
pears among the members of the Hawaiian Club in 
Boston, and while serving as its President he enter- 

[5] 



MEMORIAL OF 

tained at the old house in Charlestown the last two 
Queens of the Island Kingdom. 

With a keen historical sense and a love of the pic- 
turesque, he wielded a graceful pen in the preparation 
of several literary works, some of which are still popu- 
lar and in current circulation. His Records of the 
First Clmrch, Charlestown, his A Ce7ttury of Tow7t 
Life, and the Bibliography of Charlestown, Mass,, and 
Bunker Hill, are valuable contributions to the story of 
his native town. His Civilization of the Hawaiian 
Islands, and his edition of his father's diary under the 
title of The fournal of the Voyage of the Missionary 
Packet, Boston to Honolulu, were tributes to a people 
in whose fortunes he always felt a lively interest. 

Before his retirement from business Mr. Hunnewell 
had earned the title of a traveller, and the passion for 
roaming in foreign lands did not decline with years. 

16] 



JAMES FROTHINGHAM HUNNEWELL 

He crossed the Atlantic no less than forty-eight times, 
and his experience in ocean voyagings, which began 
in the old sailing packet days, culminated only two 
years since in the era of turbine engines and triple 
screws. The fruit of his travels and of the long 
periods spent abroad may be found in his England's 
Chro7ticle in Stone, The Imperial Island, The His- 
torical Monuments of France, and The Lands of Scott. 
These titles form only a part of Mr. Hunnewell's 
literary work. The proceedings and publications of 
the various historical and literary societies with which 
he was connected bear witness to his active interest 
in the purposes for which they were founded. 

It is difficult to characterize a man who was so es- 
sentially a member of a generation that has now almost 
disappeared. Like Squire Hardcastle in Goldsmith's 
immortal comedy he loved " ever)^thing that's old, — old 
times, old manners, old books." Of only medium stat- 

[7] 



MEMORIAL OF 

ure and somewhat bent in his later years, he was yet 
a man of almost distinguished presence. He did not 
owe his preferment in the historical and bookish socie- 
ties with which he was identified to any clubbable 
quality. Perhaps he was never what the man of the 
street is wont to describe as " a good fellow." Always 
courteous and urbane, he was also distinguished by a 
certain self-restraint and reticence that discouraged 
noisy or undue familiarity. An author of really valu- 
able books, one might have known him for years with- 
out learning the fact from his lips. A collector of rare 
and precious volumes, he was not wont to discuss his 
treasures. Few, perhaps, even in this Society which 
he loved, have had the privilege of inspecting that 
great collection which until his death he fostered in 
that quiet house beyond the Charles. Is it not fair to 
assume that this reticence in regard to his achieve- 
ments and his possessions had its root in modesty and 

[8] 



JAMES FROTHINGHAM HUNNEWELL 

diffidence ? Was there not something here that mod- 
ern writers and collectors can respect, and perhaps 
copy to advantage? 

Another reason for the reticence we have noted is 
doubtless to be found in the fact that Mr. Hunnewell 
possessed a well-stored mind, and was blessed with the 
imagination of a poet. He enjoyed the companion- 
ship of men of kindred tastes, but he had resources in 
himself that rendered him independent of the strenu- 
ous social claims of the present day. He needed no 
companionship in those fascinating travels and re- 
searches that resulted in his Lands of Scott. He was 
in the company of the great Wizard of the North, of 
Dominie Sampson, Nicol Jarvie and Dandy Dinmont, 
of Prince Charlie and the plaided chieftains of " The 
Forty-five," and perhaps of the Queen of Scots herself. 
It seemed at times as though the name of Scotland 

[9] 



MEMORIAL OF 

must have been engraven upon the heart of this schol- 
arly, old-fashioned gentleman. 

In the Club of Odd Volurnes he was wont to give 
an evening from time to time to one or another of Sir 
Walter's great masterpieces. His was no technical 
dissertation upon faults of style or construction, but 
rather for an hour he ranged among familiar friends 
and scenes, presenting them to his audience with that 
quaint charm of which he was a master. He fairly 
glowed with the love of his theme, and as he quoted 
paragraph after paragraph of description and dialogue, 
w^e seemed to see the bloom of the heather on rain- 
swept hillsides, and to hear the skirl of the pipes as the 
clansmen marched along. Moments like these always 
came as a surprise to those who were only familiar 
with his bearing upon more formal occasions. 

Mr. Hunnewell was endowed with the artistic as well 
as the poetic temperament, and the despoiler of beauty 

[10] 



JAMES FROTHINGHAM HUNNEWELL 

in any form was to him anathema. On more than one 
occasion John Knox and Oliver Cromwell have been 
the targets for his righteous indignation. An allusion 
to the ruined abbeys of Scotland never failed to call 
forth some bitter comment upon the great reformer, 
while whatever his estimate of Cromwell as a builder 
of the English state, he never forgave him the ruin 
wrought by his soldiers within the cathedral of Carl- 
isle. 

On the other hand, not many months ago he was 
much distressed by a brilliant paper read in his pres- 
ence which laid stress upon certain unchristian qual- 
ities in the character of Cotton Mather. He was 
disturbed and fearful lest these allegations should find 
their way into print. Now it is not to be supposed 
that Mr. Hunnewell would have preferred Cotton 
Mather to John Knox as the leader of the Scottish 
Reformation, or that he would have trusted Cotton 

[II] 



MEMORIAL OF 

Mather to have been less rigorous than Cromwell in 
the employment of the Ironsides against the handi- 
work of "idolaters." It is more likely that Mr. Hun- 
newell's partiality for Mather was based upon his 
respect for an old American family which played a 
strong part in the making of this nation. 

This respect for pedigree, or what is commonly 
known as " good blood," was a trait strongly marked 
in him. He was an aristocrat in the broadest and best 
sense of the word. He believed in the free institu- 
tions of his country, but he believed also in the benefi- 
cent influence upon character of a few generations of 
refined and educated ancestors. To the modern rep- 
resentatives of old and distinguished families he paid 
respectful homage. But in this, it is unnecessary' to 
add, there was no taint of truckling or sycophancy. 
Of honorable descent himself, he merely believed in 
paying honor where honor was due. Not long since 

[12] 



JAMES FROTHINGHAM HUNNEWELL 

in proposing a gentleman of distinguished lineage 
for membership in a certain Boston Society, he sup- 
plemented the words of nomination by the simple 
statement that the history of our country recited 
the qualifications of the candidate. With this re- 
spect for ancestry was coupled a reverence for the 
monuments created by our fathers which have been 
handed down to Societies like this to be cherished 
and safeguarded. 

A little more than a year ago Mr. Hunnewell read 
before The Club of Odd Volumes the address he had 
prepared for the annual meeting of the Bostonian 
Society. He was ill, and feared at times during the 
evening that he would be unable to remain and carry 
through his part. When the time came for his paper, 
contrary to his wont he remained seated, and in a 
voice weak and husky read from his chair. But as he 
came to the concluding paragraph which you all re- 

[13] 



MEMORIAL OF 

member, wherein he pays a glowing tribute to this 
ancient building in which we are gathered this after- 
noon, he rose painfully to his feet and threw his whole 
soul into those concluding lines. It was a singularly 
impressive incident — that silent tribute of respect 
for this historic structure and for those generations 
of strong men who reared it and made its story. 

And this brings us to what was, perhaps, the secret 
of Mr. Hunnewell's influence in the numerous histor- 
ical and literary bodies which he honored with his 
membership. He loved them one and all. To him 
membership was an important trust, and when called 
to office he regarded the summons not merely as a 
compliment, but as a call to conscientions responsi- 
bility. He took these things seriously, and in that 
has given us all an example that we may well take to 
heart. For some years in feeble health, it was only a 
few weeks before his end that he really deserted his 

[14] 



JAMES FROTHINGHAM HUNNEWELL 

familiar haunts and laid down his much loved A^ork. 
Again and again after a day of illness and pain he 
made his way to the meetings of those Societies over 
which he had been chosen to preside. He literally 
died in harness, 

Like a leal old Scottish cavalier, 
All of the olden time. 



fVlAY X^: 1911 




LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



014 069 544 #1 



